Commie-fornia Democrats Hit a Wall on Single-Payer

There is so much winning for taxpayers, concerned citizens, and
conservatives in general in the state of California. The slow but steady
victories in this blue bastion of progressive insanity should raise hope for
all of us. After all, the Left loves to gloat that what happens in California
is most likely to pop up all over the United States.

They might want to change their minds.

First, an assemblyman in Commie East Bay Alameda County attempted to
allow Communists to serve openly in our government. The South Vietnamese
Community in Orange County and veterans throughout the state hammered this
liberal nut. His bill to “update archaic language in the state code” died after
getting a bare majority in the Assembly. Besides, the legislature is full of
communists anyway. They just need to be voted out.

Then the infamous state senator who removed an exemption from forced
school vaccinations tried to push a state-based resolution of children’s
rights. This bill was really a subversive attack on parental rights. His
proposal would invite more government intervention into the home. The proposal
crashed and burned.

And now for the latest good news, and everyone needs to know about it.
Single payer is dead in California—for now.

In spite of their strongest attempts, the two openly-gay, openly
abusive and liberal state senators Ricardo Lara and Toni Atkins will not enact
a single-payer system in California. Keep in mind that previous California
legislatures had advanced single-payer to the Governor’s desk in years past.

The projected program would have expanded Medicare to every Californian
(and the illegal aliens, too.) The projected cost reached $400 billion, but the
cost of anything has never deterred the Bernie-crat progressives who have taken
over the California Democratic Party, even if their new chairman is a corrupt
crony who pays lip-service to progressive goals. All over the state, especially
in the town halls I have attended—not crashed!—incessantly aggressive
progressives were demanding single-payer health care—at all costs. Senator
Dianne Feinstein says no, but the ultra-liberal Congressional representatives
like Brad Sherman and Ted Lieu said “Yes!” The grassroots want socialized
medicine. The progressive special interests and community activists want it,
too. But guess what? The grand scheme to socialize health care in the state of
California has been put into a coma.

I was genuinely surprised. Liberal, regressive proposals have been
dying off in other otherwise Democratic strongholds. Hawaii and Maryland
rejected assisted suicide bills, but California passed one, with Republican
support. California tends to go all-in for these liberal schemes, but even they
had to face facts. And their failure is not a singular one. Other states had
flirted with socialized medicine, only to back away because of the exorbitant
cost. Vermont had a Democratic trifecta three years ago, and former Governor
“Putney” Pete Shumlin determined that his state would switch from Green
Mountain Obamacare to Universal Healthcare. The tax burden proved too great,
even for Democrats. They couldn’t afford it. Same was true for Rhode Island.

And then there’s California, where the state steals money from current
and future generations to pay off over-generous pensions for the previous
generations. They also spend money they don’t have protecting illegal aliens while
leaving American citizens unsafe and uncared for. Sacramento lawmakers can’t
even fix the roads. How could they ever manage healthcare, too? Even in
California, regressive leftists are learning the limits, and even they must
heed the stern advice of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to her collectivist,
redistributionist opponents: “The problem with socialism is that the government
ends up running out of other people’s money.”

Besides, Californians already voted to prevent government encroachment
into medicine. Proposition 63 would have imposed price controls on
pharmaceuticals, making a bad situation worse. Despite Bernie Sanders’ backing
and lots of union money, Big Pharma and other business interests pushed back,
and voters said “No!” They also oppose single-payer—even if it passed the state
Senate. The state Assembly had no appetite to take the bill. Interestingly
enough, Governor Jerry Brown was prepared to veto the medical monstrosity, too.

So, Speaker Anthony Rendon finagled to protect his peers from the wrath
of the nurses’ union and keep the Democratic base happy. How? After all, he
can’t say “I do whatever Big Business tells me to.” Instead, he blamed Donald
Trump and the Republicans. “They’re going to repeal Obamacare. We need the
federal funding through that program to fund our single-payer system.” Great
politics, and it works for all of us who earn money and know how to count, too.
He also placed blame on the state Senate. “They passed a bill that is
incomplete.” WHAT? Yes, this insouciant incompetence is commonplace in
Sacramento—and with the Democratic Party as a whole. Then Rendon bolsters the
base once again: “We will reconsider the proposal at the next legislative
session.”

Sure you will, Tony.

Actually, the Democratic legislature won’t try again. The $400 billion
price-tag nearly rivals the looming pension liabilities. No matter how
profligate they are, the Democrats have to budget for it. Certain issues
matter, like “Who will pay for this? How?” Whether they like Trump or not, the
California Democrats’ healthcare proposal depends on federal assistance for
money and legal waivers. So much for The Resistance, right? Not only that but
major tax increases and policy shifts would require an up and down vote from
the voters. California voters are taxed too much already. They already rejected
Prop 63. Did they think that a $400 billion tax increase (which nearly rivals
the pension liabilities eating the state budget).

Why should the country rejoice about this latest Democratic defeat?
Single-payer fantasies are the hill that Democratic trifectas die on. Obama and
the Democratic Congress wanted a public option in 2009. They gave us Obamacare,
then Republicans retook the House. Vermont has a Republican governor now, and
the Democrats do not have a supermajority.

This one-year breather gives me pause, peace, and hope. Even in deeply
self-destructive Democratic California, conservatives can celebrate a victory.